As spooky season comes to a close, the anticipation of Halloween arises. Students, adults and kids all prepare for the one night a year they can be whatever they choose to be. In the college environment, costumes are more prevalent, and obtaining one can be a daunting task. Some students prepare months in advance, whereas others have no clue what they’re wearing until the week of. 

Abby Lazar, freshman in animal science, is dressing up as The Lorax and a cheetah this Halloween season.

“I grew up watching The Lorax and wanted a funny costume for Halloween,” she said. “When I go out, I hope to troll and just be funny with my costume.” 

The whimsical nature of Dr. Seuss’s creations is perfect for a fun and memorable costume. Assembling her costume was easy due to the simplicity of The Lorax. 

“I bought orange bottoms and an orange crop top,” Lazar said. “I also bought the fluffy face stickers that go over my eyebrows and lip to really show the whole Lorax vibe. I bought everything off of Amazon.”

Lazar’s fun costume idea resembles the trends circulating this year.

“Everyone I’ve talked to so far is doing funny costumes,” Lazar said. “There’s definitely some cute ones, I’m being a cheetah one night, but for the most part, costumes seem to be trending more on the funny side.” 

The movement toward funny costumes wasn’t limited to just one friend group. Freshman in early childhood education Sadie Swartz is dressing up as a red blow-up Among Us character.

“I have always enjoyed a funny costume, so I figured my first year in college would be a good time to show off my amazing costume idea,” Swartz said. “I bought my costume from Amazon.” 

Although Swartz loves a good, hilarious costume, last Halloween was the one she deemed her most memorable.

“Last year, me and my two best friends were Elphaba, Glinda and Dorothy,” Swartz said.

While funny costumes seem to be the direction this year, Swartz also believes corsets are trending among women for the Halloween season. 

Pop culture also inspires a person’s costume choice. Sophomore in animal science Clarence Leach is going as a classic Italian mobster. 

“My costume is thrifted for the most part, the suit is thrifted, and the suspenders are from Spirit Halloween,” Leach said. “Nothing has been challenging; it is an easy costume.” 

This year, Leach also saw a shift toward funny pop culture costumes. As a child, he always enjoyed dressing up, with his favorite memory being the year he went as a Gotham City crimefighter.

“The most iconic costume I’ve ever worn was Batman when I was 9 — my best memories come from that costume,” Leach said. “For starters, I love Batman, and as a 9-year-old old I thought having fake muscles made me look cool.”

Leach is excited about celebrating the holiday and seeing others’ costumes. 

Kale Nagel, sophomore in architectural engineering, took the simple route this year and is going to be a wizard. 

“The main inspiration behind my costume was TikTok, with a little help from some friends,” Nagel said. “I ordered my costume off Amazon. I did not have the time or creativeness to make a cool custom costume.”

Besides the fun of dressing up, students still enjoy the traditions they’ve started with their loved ones, even after moving out. 

Pumpkin carving is a tradition that many students share as their favorite fall activity. Leach used to carve pumpkins annually with his family, while Lazar maintained that same tradition with her family.

“Every year my family carves pumpkins together, and it is super nice to have that time together,” Lazar said. “Being in college, it has definitely been different not being able to do those fun activities with my family.” 

Swartz loved the thrill of trick-or-treating as a young kid; however, throughout the years, her way of celebrating changed.

“My brother and I would sort our candies on the stairs in my house and trade,” Swartz said. “All of elementary and middle school, I would trick-or-treat. Freshman year, I got embarrassed of trick-or-treating and hung out with my friends.”

Swartz’s embarrassment didn’t last long, as after her freshman year, she went trick-or-treating the rest of high school. 

“I went with my friends because it’s so much fun, also if someone denies you candy because you are ‘too old’ then they are the ones with issues,” she said. 

Nagel’s experience differs as Halloween has become more special throughout his college years because, as a kid, he did not celebrate the season.

“As I’ve gotten into college, I’ve gotten more into doing stuff on Halloween because everybody dresses up and has fun, so last year I dressed up for the first time and went out with friends, and it was a blast,” he said. “My favorite thing to do on Halloween is chill with my friends. I never did anything for Halloween growing up, so I would always hang out with my friends and be mischievous.”

The memories of candy sorting and the messy excitement of pumpkin carving define these students’ Halloween experiences. Whether they spent weeks planning the perfect pop culture joke or simply clicked “Buy Now” on Amazon, students embrace the season and share joy with the people they love.